From a customer’s point of view, if you are unwilling to pay an honest price to a designer, then it’s fair to say you are likely to cut corners elsewhere in your products and services.

In other words, if you don’t take your own brand seriously, how do you expect potential customers to respond?

Cheap labour, in general, has hugely negative connotations for a business, especially when words like ‘sweat-shop’, ‘child-labour’ and ‘exploitation’ are connected so closely.

These can be disastrous to any business of any scale.

Project Management issues

Another problem you can come across in a logo design competition is that you’ll be expected to manage a huge team of designers.

Depending on the popularity of the project (a larger prize will obviously attract more entrants) you could end up in discussion with hundreds of people from all over the world, many of whom may not speak your language.

Whilst it may seem you’re saving money by not hiring a professional designer, you’ll be wasting a massive amount of time and resources on the process itself.

This will undoubtedly have a negative effect on your business.

Finally, add in the fact that there is basically zero collaboration between you and the individual designer.

Progress from an initial concept into something you really like will be both tedious and frustrating.

Low-quality work

When companies launch a logo design competition, they all have grand plans and imagine they’ll receive dozens of great logos to choose from.

Surely this is the best springboard to their brands’ success from the get-go?

The reality is very different.

For a start, not every entrant is actually going to be a designer

Some will be kids looking for a bit of extra pocket money, others will be self-proclaimed ‘amateur designers’ (which is perfectly fine – you have to start somewhere!) and some will be simply chancing their arm and hoping to get lucky.

The most common method is to find a suitable logo on Google images, remove the real company name, trace it, squish, bend and recolour it in the hope that you never find out.

Some of these frauds are pretty good at it; if you aren’t vigilant you could have a real headache with copyright laws.

Don’t forget, the entrants into the competition have a certain anonymity behind the username and with no contracts in place, you have to be very careful.

Imagine finally receiving what you think is a great logo design concept, only to discover that it’s a complete rip-off.

Obviously, you can’t use the logo in question or else you’ll be risking a lawsuit.

Now the contest will feel like a complete waste of time altogether.

Most of these logo competitions will take weeks or months to populate and develop – would that time not be better spent working one-to-one with a professional?

I’ve seen so many logo design contests over the years (I started practising logo design in them years ago so am by no means against the idea) and have noticed plagiarism in every single one of them – it’s not a possibility, it’s an inevitability!

“Successful design work results from a collaborative process between a client and the designer, developing a clear sense of the client’s objectives, competitive situation, and needs. Speculative design competitions result in a superficial assessment of the problem and can only result in a design that is judged on a superficial basis. Design creates value for clients as a result of the approach designers take in addressing the problems or needs of the client and only at the end of that process is a “design” created. Speculative competitions for work based on a perfunctory problem statement, will not result in the kind of work a client deserves.”

In conclusion:

Hire a Professional, rather than run a Logo Design Competition

All of the above is in stark contrast to dealing with a professional graphic designer that has a tried and trusted process to get the best results.

A professional logo designer will perform research on your brand identity, industry and target audience to come up with the best possible concept to create a logo for your business – will logo design entrants do the same?

Certainly not in the 15 minutes they’ve spent on your project!

A reputable designer or Branding Agency will come up with several designs and test their prototypes – can you say the same for a designer in a competition?

Of course not, because they don’t have the time to do all of the above when they are not getting paid and the chances of them winning are slim.

No one wants to work for free.

The reality of a business logo design competition and crowdsourcing design contests is that they aren’t worth the time and effort if you are serious about your business.

While entrants work without being paid in the hope that their logo is picked, businesses are taking the risk that entrants are skilled designers producing original work.

Any money that you save will be lost in the time spent on the competition, which reduces your company’s productivity.

The additional stress and potential for lawsuits will give you a headache you simply don’t need.

If all you’re looking is a basic logo design for your blog header then, by all means, explore the option of a logo design competition if all you’ll be spending is £100 or so…

But if you don’t want to gamble on branding your company – be sure to work with a professional Branding agency.

If you wish to discuss how we can develop your brand or provide graphic design for your product or business, email us: [email protected]

Inkbot Design is a Creative Branding Agency that is passionate about effective Graphic Design, Brand Identity, Logos and Web Design.

When Carolyn Davidson, who, although, had some graphic design knowledge, designed the NIKE Swoosh, she was teaching and made $35 for her contribution. I believe, like The Voice, or American Idol, that you can find great talent from a large pool of designers that are not necessarily professionals. If you are a company that is looking to set a plan in motion to promote, brand or debrand themselves than I do believe that a professional that has had success in these areas is important, but it is not a black and white issue on whether or not the professional will… Read more »

Stuart delivered a logo for my business a few years ago and I'm really glad I went with him as the design has stood the test of time and I've used it extensively across social media etc. Highly recommendedread more

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14:02 01 Nov 17

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Inkbot's design work is world renowned, and his blog posts are clear to read.

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13:33 22 Oct 17

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12:23 22 Oct 17

Ink bot design has demonstrated superb skill in all areas of design. If you need a logo, web layout or general, branding project done, they're the firm to use.read more

Odin Wallace

12:02 22 Oct 17

I give this agency my highest rating for extensive knowledge and consistent service.

Stuart delivered a logo for my business a few years ago and I'm really glad I went with him as the design has stood the test of time and I've used it extensively across social media etc. Highly recommended